Of Montreal @ The Pageant } 10.21.10

The last few tours of the psychedelic pop troupe, Of Montreal, have seemed to synch up to interesting historical points in my life. My pair of tickets to their 2007 tour were given away as my wedding date ended up falling on that same weekend. A year later, the band returned and I took my wife to her first “big” concert. As well, it was the first time I ever had the chance to shoot a concert (short story – I had no idea what I was doing and it didn’t go well). Flash forward to the present and with their return to The Pageant to tour for their newest release, False Priest, I definitely wanted make sure I was there and able to shoot the show properly.

I firmly believe that Of Montreal has one of the best live performances today (maybe second only to The Flaming Lips), so there’s no real point trying to explain what went on. You get a better sense of the craziness in pictures. It’s weird, it’s wild, but totally reflective of Kevin Barnes and his crew. It’s like the id unleashed. So enjoy the super-sized picture set and stick around for some extra thoughts at the end.

-The set was capped off with a spray of feathers into the crowd. I still found feather pieces in my bag and hair the next morning.

-While the performance aspect is incredibly integral to the Of Montreal experience, one big drawback is that the band is pushed to the back of the stage. Even though they occasionally wandered up to the front every now and then, I’d love to see them upfront too.

-False Priest became my second vinyl purchase. The first 5 albums sold that night were signed by the band, so that was too good of a deal to pass up. (Although I was really hoping to get that red vinyl version sold online too.)

-I don’t think I enjoyed this set as much as I did the last time they were in town. Maybe because I wasn’t familiar with the new material? Regardless, here’s some good perspective that was shared by someone else (paraphrased): Even an average Of Montreal show is out of this world amazing compared to other shows.

-Enjoyed the Michael Jackson tribute at the end with Janelle Monáe and her crew. Felt like the end of a musical with the cast coming out to celebrate.

-What was your favorite costume/skit? I think mine was the checkerboard-suited figures that slid out to the front of the stage to reach their hands into the crowd.